Tuesday 9 August 1664

Up, and to my office, and there we sat all the morning, at noon home, and there by appointment Mr. Blagrave came and dined with me, and brought a friend of his of the Chappell with him. Very merry at dinner, and then up to my chamber and there we sung a Psalm or two of Lawes’s, then he and I a little talke by ourselves of his kinswoman that is to come to live with my wife, who is to come about ten days hence, and I hope will do well. They gone I to my office, and there my head being a little troubled with the little wine I drank, though mixed with beer, but it may be a little more than I used to do, and yet I cannot say so, I went home and spent the afternoon with my wife talking, and then in the evening a little to my office, and so home to supper and to bed.

This day comes the newes that the Emperour hath beat the Turke;1 killed the Grand Vizier and several great Bassas, with an army of 80,000 men killed and routed; with some considerable loss of his own side, having lost three generals, and the French forces all cut off almost. Which is thought as good a service to the Emperour as beating the Turke almost, for had they conquered they would have been as troublesome to him.2

This was the battle of St. Gothard, in which the Turks were defeated with great slaughter by the imperial forces under Montecuculli, assisted by the confederates from the Rhine, and by forty troops of French cavalry under Coligni. St. Gothard is in Hungary, on the river Raab, near the frontier of Styria; it is about one hundred and twenty miles south of Vienna, and thirty east of Gratz. The battle took place on the 9th Moharrem, A.H. 1075, or 23rd July, A.D. 1664 (old style), which is that used by Pepys. — B. ↩

The fact is, the Germans were beaten by the Turks, and the French won the battle for them. — B. ↩

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Annotations

(The knowledge of the activities of Holmes had already reached the United Provinces.)

Zeeland, where many shareholders of the WIC resided suggested that 12 warships should be equiped by the States General and lent to the WIC. The proposal was excepted... To prevent Downing hearing of it the descision was taken by only seven members and that De Ruyter should be ordered from the Med.

Given SP's enthusiasm for his colleagues one possibility is Psalm 140 "Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man : and preserve me from the wicked men. Who imagine mischief in their hearts : and stir up strife all the day long. ... who are purposed to to overthrow my goings. ... Let hot burning coals fall upon them : let them be cast into the fire, and into the pit, that they never rise up again ..."

Of the heroic struggle I have participated in...Of the noble deeds I have done...Of the honors I have acquired for Heaven, though by the wickedness of jealous men denied me on Earth...Your brother by law shall say nothing. I will merely ask that you inform my beloved sister that our family's honor may at last be taken to have been restored...In all things of true worth. Christendom is secure and safe once more...I am content to receive no further honor.

Sadly, however...My material wants are but poorly nourished by these glories. Men of bad faith and ill-practices have fixed me in their sights and sought to blight my blooming to prevent their own unworthiness from being noted. I must therefore request, dear brother, a modest loan of you that I may return once more to the loving arms of my family, among whom, I am proud and delighted to include you. An agent of mine stays for me in Dover, you may write to him and I will receive that which I know your generous heart will not fail to bestow upon a gallant, bloodied defender of Europe from the infidel.

Your loving brother,

Balthazar St. Michel, Esq."

***"All right, get that to Samuel Pepys, Esquire, Clerk of the Acts at the Naval Office in Seething Lane, London. Hurry, man."

"Wait, boy. Here, St. Michel. You sure your brother's good for five pounds?" stern look.

"Madam...My brother is Clerk of the Acts of His Majesty's Navy...Quite good for it, Moll." he nervously concludes as innkeeper Moll summons goons.

"The way you're a soldier in the Emperor's army in Germany?" she frowns. "When you never got past Dover?"

"In enterprise of martial kind,When there was any fighting,He led his regiment from behind(He found it less exciting).But when away his regiment ran,His place was at the fore, O-That celebrated,Cultivated,UnderratedNobleman,The would-be Sieur of St. Michel-o!

In the first and foremost flight, ha, ha!You found that gallant knight, ha, ha!That celebrated,Cultivated,UnderratedNobleman,The (would-be) Sieur of St. Michel-o!

When, to evade Destruction's hand,To hide the Germans proceeded,No soldier in that gallant bandHid half as well as he did.He lay concealed throughout the day,And so preserved his gore, O!That unaffected,Undetected,Well-connectedWarrior,The (would-be) Sieur of St. Michel-o!

In every doughty deed, ha, ha!He always took the lead, ha, ha!That unaffected,Undetected,Well connectedWarrior,The (would-be) Sieur of St. Michel-o!

When told that they would all be shotUnless they left the service,That hero hesitated not,So marvellous his nerve is.He sent his resignation in,The first of all his corps, O!That very knowing,Overflowing,Easy-goingBalthazar,The (would-be) Sieur of St. Michel-o!

To men of grosser clay, ha, ha!He will always show the way, ha, ha!That very knowing,Overflowing,Easy-goingBalthazar,The (would-be) Sieur of St. Michel-o!"

"Very funny..." Bess glares at Sam and company. "So insulting my brother's what this new room is for?"

"To prevent Downing hearing of it the decision was taken by only seven members and that De Ruyter should be ordered from the Med."

This secret decision was taken on 9th August according to the Dutch author Block in his Life of Admiral De Ruyter, and he takes the dates from De Ruyter's journal. . France adopted the new calendar on Monday, 20 December 1582, following Sunday, December 9, 1582.[2] The Protestant Dutch provincesof Holland and Zeeland also adopted it in December of that year.

"The whole thing was done with so much secrecy that Downing heard nothing about it, although he was usually well informed concerning everything that went on by certain members of the States with whom he had relations, and by the clerks of the States General and of Holland who were in his pay."

Given the Military mention today an interesting aside in about 9 weeks one of the elite forces in the UK and World set its roots down. The Royal Marines were formed in 1755 as the Royal Navy's infantry troops. However, the marines can trace their origins back to the formation of the English Army's "Duke of York and Albany's maritime regiment of Foot" at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company on 28 October 1664